The Role of security of social identity in intergroup relations.

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Abstract

Using concepts derived from Social Identity theory, this study
investigated the impact of status, perceived legitimacy/illegitimacy
and perceived stabiliity/instability on intergroup bias in a real-life
intergroup situation between blacks and whites in South Africa. The
sample consisted of 369 students registered at the University of Natal,
Durban. Of the total, 208 subjects were used exclusively in preliminary
testing necessary for the development of the questionnaire. The
independent variables, status, perceived legitimacy/illegitimacy and
perceived stability/instability, were assessed by means of the group
perception ladder; this being an adapted version of Cantril's (1965)
Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. An attitude scale for black-white
relations was also constructed and administered as a check on the
validity of the group perception ladder. The dependent measure was
the degree of ingroup bias displayed in (i.) voting preferences among
four candidates (2 whites and 2 blacks) standing in a mock faculty
council election, (ii) evaluation of these candidates .on a list of
trait scales, (iii) number of student residence rooms allocated to
ingroup and outgroup, (iv) relative desirability of the rooms allocated
to each group and (v) the degree of integration shown in the allocation
of rooms to each group.
Both the independent and dependent measures were compiled into a
questionnaire, carefully randomized according to a Latin-square
arrangement. This questionnaire was then administered to a group of
161 paid student volunteers of all races. Participants were unaware
that race was a subject of interest. A system of colour coding was
used to identify the race of the subject . The data' from Indian and
'coloured' volunteers was discarded from the analysis, Since blacks
and whites formed the racial categorizations selected for investigation..
The data from 70 blacks and 70 whites was analysed using the statistical
technique of multiple linear regression. A statistically
significant pattern of results was found on two of the dependent
measures, namely, ingroup bias in voting preferences and degree of
integration. The findings provided partial support for the predictions
of Soc i a I I dentity theory. Under conditions where stability / instability was found to have a significant effect, the perception of
instability generally resulted in an enhancement of ingroup bias. A
significant effect for status was only found when the status relations
were perceived as legitimate. Perceived legitimacy was found to be
more salient in the low status group; eliciting a stronger reaction
from its members. In both the high and low status groups those who
perceived the social stratification as illegitimate were found to
display lesser ingroup bias than comparable others who believed that
the status system is legitimate. While social Identity theory predicts
such a trend for high status groups, the similar findings in the low
status group is contrary to the theory. These results were evaluated
against the backdrop of several methodological and practical problems
associated with the research.